Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-28

10 institute an investigation, with the view
of determining, il possible. the true date OF
the gold discovery. l fully appreciate, as
you gentlemen doubtless appreciate, the
importance of exercising the greatest pos
sible care in a research looking to the fixing
of the date of an event so prominent in the
history of the world. Nor am l insensible
of the fact that by reason of the then
sparsity of the white population of the
country, the death and removal of
many of those who were at the
scene of the discovery, or in q
position to have contemporaneously known
about it, renders it a task difficult of salts
factory solution at this remote day-nearly
forty years after the happening of the
event. In the investigations which have
made l sought only for statements of par
ties who were at Coloma particularly, or in
the country, at the time. Very much has
been published in books, magazines and
newspapers concerning the circumstances
attending the Marshall discovery, and in
many instances they are grossly incorrect.
Most OF them are, of course, based upon
the statements of persons who were at the
time at Coloma or at Suffers Fort, Sacra-
mento.
In the article in the Ouerlalld Monthly re-
ferred to there are incorporated extracts
from the diary kept by Henry w. Bigler,
extending from January 10, 1S47, to Feb
ruary IA, 184S. Bigler had come into the
country with the Mormon battalion in
1S47, and after being mustered out of
service, entered the employ of Captain
John A. Suffer on September 18th of that
year. With Marshall and others he went
to Coloma on the 9th, and assisted in the
construction of the sawmill and water
race. The entries in his diary referring to
the pOld and itS discovery ara follo,rc.
January "a, 1S4S-This day some kind of metal
that looks like gold was found in the tail-race
Sunday, January 30th-Clear and has been
all the week Our metal has been tried and
proved to be gold. 1t is thought to be rich. We
have picked up more than a hundred dollars
worth last week.
will first consider the statements of
James W. Marshall. relative to the date.
Parenthetically | will remark that Mr.. Hit
tell is mistaken in the Overland article in
the statement that Marshalrs story had
been written by others. True, it is that
the " Life aud Adventures of Marshall u
was written by George Frederick Persons,
formerly editor of the RECORD UNION, of
this city but have copies of two accounts
of the matter written by Marshall him
self for the periodical press. In 1856 a
number of interesting letters were pub
lish ed in the old San Francisco Chronicle
vi HucSllOu Mucluti hdISudll WAS
really entitled to the credit of making the
original discovery of the gold On Jan
uary 2S, 1856, Marshall wrote a letter,
which was published in the Chronicle on
February 9th, in which he gave detailed
account of the discovery. Speaking of
the date, he said, and upon the 10Th of
the same month of January 1S48), dis
covered the gold"
In the November, 1857, number of
HutchingS' California Magazine appeared
lengthy statements of Suffer and of Mar
shall of the circumstances attending the
discovery Therein Marshall said, q and
about half-past I clock on or about the
10Th of january am not quite certain to
day, but it was between the 18th and Goth
of that month-1SfS, 8 | discov-
cred the gold" In the Life of Mar
SHALL" written by Mr.. Parsons, and
published in 1870, at page 81, the
date is fixed without qualification as the
10Th day of January 1S48 Early in Jan
uary, 1882, reported Marshalrs evidence
given in the Gold Run case and he swore
that the discovery was made on January
10Th. Marshall attended the celebration bv
the Native Sons in Sacramento in September
1884, and issued autograph cards, on which
he had printed after his written signature,
"the discoverer of gold in California Janual Y
10, 1S48." The admission in the 1857 arti-
Gle that he is . not quite certain to day, u
would indicate what was undoubtedly the
fact that Marshall relied entirely on memory
t. establish the date, and therefore mem
orandum made conenporaneous would
be almost conclusive evidence as opposed
to the uncertainty of mans recollection.
Mr.. Bigler wrote letter to the San Fran
cisco Bulletin, which was published in the
daily edition OF that paper OF January 9,
1871, and there he gave detailed account of
the gold discovery giving full credit to Mar
shall, but he did not give the date save by
inference. He said: "Some three or four
days after this (the discovery of the gold,
Marshall went down to Suffers fort to see
about grub and to have the mineral tested
he was gone four days. When he returned
metal, his reply was, Oh, boys, by God, ii
is the pure stuff. l and the old Captain
locked ourselves up and were half a day
| trying it, and the outsiders wondered what
in hell was up, and surmised that | found
| quicksilver mine but we let them sweat u
and be described in detail the account Mar
shall had given of the experiment that had
been made at the fort to test the specimens
Bigler then wrote: He then said Suffer
would be up in few days to look and ex-
| anime the race. In few evenings after
wards Marshall came into our shanty and
| told US that Suffer had come" etc.
The narrative of Mrs. WINNER, who was
at the sawmill cooking for the men at the
time of the discovery, published in the
| San Francisco Bulletin of December 10
1874, is quite elaborate. She says: They
had been working the on mill-race, dam, anC
mill, about six months, when one morning
| along the last days of December, or the
| first week of January, 1S47-S, the discovery
| was made" She further stated that Suttel
came up with Marshall. In a statement fur
nished evidently by WINNER and published
in 1856, the time is fixed as "early in Feb
ruary, the exact day is not remembered"
| Samuel Brannsn, in an article published
in the Calistoga Tribune on April IL, 1872
| fixes the date as the 18th.
| General Suffer kept diary also, and
| will quote so much of il as refers to thu
discovery, following his spelling and pune
! tuation literally. He wrote:
| August Is, ls47-Marshall moved, with P. Wis
ners lWimmerl family and the working hand
TO Coloms, amt. began to work briskly on tn,
sawmil
January 2s 1s4S-Marshall arrived in tn,
evening, it was raining very heavily, but h
told me that he had came on important business
after we was alone IN private Room he showe'
me the first Specimens of Gold, that is he wa
not certain if it was Gold or not, but he though
it might be- Immediately made the proof an,
found that il was Gold: / told him even tina
most of all is g Caret Gold; he wished that
| should come up with him Immediately, but toll
him that / have TO give first my orders to tn
people in all my Factories and shops.
February 1st-Ieft for the Sawnill attende,
by Baquero (ohmpiol was absent 2nd, Sd, At
& 5th. examinsd myself everything aud pickle
up a few Specimens of Gold myself in the tai
race of the Sawsnill, this Gold and others whic
| Marshall and some of the other laborers gave
me lit was found while in my employ an
| Wages told them that would ring got mad
of il so soon as the Goldsmith would be here.
had a talk with my employed people at the saw
mill, told thenlthat as they know now that tii
Metal is Gold, wished that they would do IN
the great favor and keep IL secret only week.
because my large -Four NJ - Brighton woul
have been in Operation 4 x tine: whicl
undertaking woald have bar g. fortune 10 me
and unfortunately the peop.s would not kee
it secret, and so lost on this Min At The loves
calculation about $500
Now as to the conclusions. The dat
January 18th, sdopted by the Association il
1 New York, is certainly wrong. Noperson
| so far as my researches have extended, ha
ever inimated that that was the date. NJ